1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer readable medium storing a game program and to an information processing apparatus which reads information from a recording medium during an operation thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known, a software to operate an information processing apparatus (that is, a computer, a game machine, etc.) is composed of programs and several pieces of data utilized by the programs, and is distributed through a recording medium in a disk shape (for example, a flexible disk, CD-ROM, etc.). At a time of an execution of the software, a part of the software (that is, program or data) in the recording medium is read out and written over useless information on a RAM of the information processing apparatus.
More concretely, a game software for use in an information processing apparatus (a personal computer or a game machine) is distributed through a CD-ROM 100 having a configuration as shown in FIG. 1, for example. That is, the CD-ROM 100 is generally pressed such that a game program including a main program and a plurality of program codes is recorded in a recording area 100c at an inner radius side on the disk plane thereof, a group of animation data is recorded in a recording area 100a at its outer radius side, and a group of graphic data is recorded in a recording area 100b therebetween. In other words, a recording area composed of contiguous storage locations (sectors) that exist near the center of the CD-ROM 100 is used for storing the game program, and a recording area composed of contiguous storage locations that exist near the outer edge of the CD-ROM 100 is used for storing the animation data. Furthermore, the program codes, the animation data, the graphic data and the likes are recorded in the CD-ROM 100 in a form where each information can be identified by a file name.
The CPU in the information processing apparatus having a CD-ROM drive that is set with the CD-ROM 100 will operate as follows. At first, the CPU read out the main program within the recording area 100c onto the RAM by controlling the CD-ROM drive. Thereafter, the CPU, in accordance with the main program in the RAM, reads out several units of information (usually, several program codes and several graphic data) from the CD-ROM 100 to the RAM. Then, the CPU begins a control using the information prepared on the RAM, and if a predetermined condition (for example, a condition for proceeding to a new stage) is fulfilled, it reads several information corresponding to the fulfilled condition, from the CD-ROM 100, and stores them on the RAM to overwrite useless information. Then, it begins a control that utilizes this newly prepared information.
Thus, in the information processing apparatus that is set with the CD-ROM 100, processing to read out several pieces of information necessary for continuing the execution of program from the CD-ROM 100 and stored on the RAM is executed. The configuration of the CD-ROM 100 described above causes the CD-ROM drive to operate inefficiently at a time of this processing (hereinafter, it refers to as an update processing)
That is, at a time of the update processing, usually, several graphic data and several program codes are read out from the CD-ROM 100. But, in the CD-ROM 100, these information are recorded in the recording areas that are separated each other. As a result, there are many occasions that the head of the CD-ROM drive is not located in a neighborhood of the recording area of the information in the CD-ROM 100 at the time when a read instruction for a certain information is issued to the CD-ROM drive during the update processing, which causes that a relatively long latency time is included in a response time (an access time) for each of the reading instructions.
Further, in general information processing apparatus, two seek actions must be performed in the CD-ROM drive to read out two files consecutively recorded on the CD-ROM 100. More specifically, the CD-ROM 100 causes the CD-ROM drive to operate inefficiently at a time of the updating processing, because information are recorded in the recording areas that are separated each other, and each information is recorded as a file.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer readable medium capable of operating an information processing apparatus without making a reading device of the apparatus perform a useless operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an information processing apparatus operates at high speed.
In order to achieve the above mentioned object, a computer readable medium which is readable by a computer having a memory through a reading device according to the present invention comprises a program recording area in which a main program to be executed by the computer to perform a game is recorded and a component recording area in which program components each of which is used by the computer executing the main program to display a game character are consecutively recorded. The main program recorded in the program recording area includes a routine for causing the reading device to read out a plurality of program components that are consecutively stored in the component recording area and for storing a some of the program components outputted by the reading device into a memory.
The computer readable medium according to the present invention is so configured as to have the program recording area in which a main program is recorded and the component recording area in which program components each of which is used by the computer to display a game character are consecutively recorded. The main program which is recorded in the computer readable medium is executed by the computer to make the reading device, at a time when some of the program components is required, read out the program components that are consecutively recorded in the component recording area including said some of the program components and to make the computer write said some of the program components into the memory.
By setting this recording medium to the reading device of the information processing apparatus such as a computer or a game machine, a reading of the necessary program components will be completed without causing the reading device to perform a useless operation. Accordingly, using the recording medium of the present invention, the information processing apparatus can be functioned in a state that a latency time is less, in other words, the information processing apparatus can be functioned much faster than the conventional ones.
An information processing apparatus of the invention comprises a recording medium in which program components each of which is used for displaying a game character are recorded, a reading device for reading the program components from the recording medium, a memory for temporally storing some of the program components recorded in the recording medium and control means for controlling the reading device to read out a plurality of program components that are consecutively stored in the recording medium and for storing some of the program components read by the reading device into the memory.
The information processing apparatus of the present invention is configured as to operate similarly to a computer set with the computer readable medium of the present invention. Accordingly, the information processing apparatus functions much faster than the conventional ones.
Note that, in actualizing this information processing apparatus, it is not necessary to record a main program on the recording medium in which program components are recorded. Further, as the recording medium, every type of medium can be used, for example, a compact disc.